Katy Hackworthy
Art, particularly writing, is one of the most impactful mediums we possess for truth telling. June is Pride month, a time to celebrate and honor the LGBTQIA+ community’s history, resilience, and joy. The first Pride, known now as the Stonewall Uprising, was a riot & a protest led by Black trans women such as Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. We must center those radical roots while also acknowledging victories up to this point and fighting for queer liberation, this month and every month. As readers and writers, an excellent form of celebration is supporting and uplifting LGBTQIA+ writers and supporting their collected works.
Katy Hackworthy (left) with poet Mary Margaret
credit: Justin Patchin
As a Queer artist in my twenties, writing, and particularly poetry, gave me a vehicle to explore my identity in a more expansive and intimate way. During my senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, I learned about a writing conference interested in bodies of work that interrogated the theme of Revelations. I saw the opportunity to submit my work as a simultaneous opportunity to explore how my Queerness revealed itself to me over the years as well as how coming out (and coming out again, and again, and again) effected my life. I visited a friend in Montreal over winter break, and dedicated a good chunk of the trip to creating a micro chapbook of sorts, which led to greater discoveries about my sexuality, my experience as a closeted teenager, and how my queerness impacted my relationships.
“From growing up in a conservative household to being part of a largely Queer friend group, I was a professional at expressing myself differently depending on the company I was in, but as corny as it sounds, the solace of a blank page was the safety blanket I needed to truly make sense of how I connected to my community, my family, and my own sexuality. ”
From growing up in a conservative household to being part of a largely Queer friend group, I was a professional at expressing myself differently depending on the company I was in, but as corny as it sounds, the solace of a blank page was the safety blanket I needed to truly make sense of how I connected to my community, my family, and my own sexuality. I am grateful for the ways writing has helped me learn about myself, and I am even more grateful for all the LGBTQIA+ writers whose words and experiences made me feel seen along the way.
Even though I believe we need to go deeper than the sentiment “representation matters”, I must acknowledge it truly does wonders for folx in my community, especially young people. I still remember reading the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg where Idgie retrieves honeycomb for the object of her affections, Ruth, and how deep and true their love felt on the page. As a precocious 11 year old who was far from understanding who she was, seeing two women who loved each other, even in a yellowed old book that could only explore queerness on a more surface, made me feel like that kind of love was possible for me. I feel so much delight knowing how many more books are readily available for young members of the LGBTQIA+ community who may not have to search or hide the way I did for much of my youth.
This June, I hope ya’ll celebrate your LGBTQIA+ friends, families, and community members by learning more about our shared history, by lifting up their unique experiences, and by reading some of the incredible writers in this list compiled by me and my fellow Queer poet, Dorothy Chan (see above!). Don’t forget to support these folx every other month of the year, too--happy reading and Happy Pride!